Thu Apr 17 00:59:58 2008

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Spurs blast Jazz to wrap up West's third seed

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San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tony Parker poured in 24 points and dished out 12 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs clinched the third seed for the Western Conference playoffs with a 109-80 rout of the Northwest Division- champion Utah Jazz, who slipped to the fourth spot and fell behind Houston for homecourt advantage.

Tim Duncan tallied 14 points, reeled in 11 rebounds and swatted three shots for the Spurs, who assured themselves of homecourt advantage in the opening round with the victory. The defending NBA champs have won at least 50 games each of the past nine years and own the current longest playoff streak with 11 straight appearances. They are aiming for their fifth championship in 10 seasons, but the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns stand in the way first.

Manu Ginobili, who had missed the Spurs' previous two games with a strained left groin, added 12 points, six boards and four assists, and Michael Finley also scored 12, as San Antonio (56-26) has triumphed in back-to-back outings to close out the regular season. Kurt Thomas and Matt Bonner chipped in with 10 points apiece, helping the Spurs earn a 2-2 split in the season series with the Jazz. San Antonio has won 26 of the last 32 meetings.

C.J. Miles finished with 12 points for Utah (54-28), which failed in its bid to secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason. The Jazz still earned the fourth seed in the West, but the fifth seed, Houston (55-27), owns a better win-loss record and will get the extra game as the host. With the best home record in the NBA at 37-4, Utah lost out on a valuable opportunity.

Mehmet Okur contributed 11 points for the Jazz, and Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap each ended with nine points. Utah has dropped 21 straight showdowns at San Antonio, including three losses in last year's conference finals. The Jazz haven't won as the visitor in the series since a 101-87 triumph on Feb. 28, 1999.

After ripping off an 18-6 run to open the affair, the Spurs were on top 30-21 moving into the second stanza.

San Antonio used a 22-5 scoring streak to build a comfortable cushion before halftime. The surge featured Finley, who netted eight points, and was sealed with a reverse layup by Ginobili with 41 seconds left, as the Spurs soared ahead, 65-37.

The Jazz added a basket before the break to trail 65-39 heading into the locker room.

The teams traded blows after intermission, and San Antonio emerged maintaining a commanding 85-60 advantage entering the final frame.

In the fourth, the Spurs coasted to victory, leading by as many as 33 points.

Game Notes

San Antonio was 1-3 against Phoenix this season...The Spurs posted a 34-7 mark at the AT&T Center this season...Though the contest was deadlocked once, the Jazz never held the lead...San Antonio shot a scorching 59.4 percent from the field (41-of-69) and 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-16), while limiting Utah to 38.3 percent shooting from the floor (31-of-81) and 16.7 percent from long-range (2-of-12).